Greenpeace says latest IPCC report shows action needed on dairy

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Pic: Getty Images/Tatomm

Following the delivery of the third part of the Sixth Assessment Report to world governments from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III, Greenpeace Aotearoa said New Zealand needs to take action on the dairy industry.

The new report looks at climate change mitigation. It builds on previous Working Group reports, which looked at the physical science of climate change; and impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.

“The IPCC’s latest report outlines that solutions for meeting the Paris Agreement’s warming limit do exist. But also that those solutions won’t materialize with governments’ current policies, which are setting us up for failure,” said Greenpeace Aotearoa lead agriculture campaigner, Christine Rose.

“For New Zealand, where our biggest climate polluter is the dairy industry with its massive reliance on synthetic fertilizer, real climate action means halving the herd and cutting synthetic nitrogen fertilizer,” said Rose.

Greenpeace said the latest IPCC report underlines the importance of restoring and protecting natural ecosystems and changing our farming model toward more plant-based, regenerative agriculture.

“The latest IPCC report highlights the need for bolder and faster action on cutting climate pollution. Just last week, climate floods and storms impacted vulnerable communities and destroyed infrastructure,” said Rose.

“The Ardern Government must invest in more plant-based regenerative organic farming, which both reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and adds resilience to the way we grow food.”